I'm looking for honest opinions. I'm thinking of buying my first "expensive" TMNT set, and I'd like to know everyone's take on which company gives the most value-for-dollar, and why.

I've read that Mondo's figures had loose joints, that Neca's 1990 movie figures had some quality control issues, and that 3A didn't really look great in-hand.
So, has the demand for the greatest turtle figure been filled by any of the companies out there, or is there still a need for a better product?

Should I invest in what's been made, or wait for something better to come along?

It really boils down to what turtles you like the best. If it's Nick's, then Revoltech. If it's Mirage, you can't beat that first wave from NECA. For the Fred Wolf turtles, you've got your choice between NECA & SHF Figuarts. The former give you villains, but they also have some QC issues & a bit of sameface syndrome. I personally prefer the latter from Bandai, they're beefier, more durable, more articulated, have neat accessories & alternate heads.

I'm not a big fan of the really large pricey pieces, they take up a lot of space, have their share of problems, & your wallet takes a harder hit.

If there's a particular iteration of TMNT you like above all else, let us know which one that is & we might be able to steer you in the right direction.

I guess I'm wondering if the "best" possible toys have been made. More along the lines of, did Neca satisfy the need for a Mirage Turtle, or could it be better?
Same thing with their Movie line. Did they nail it, or could it be better?
I like that Sharkblade pointed out that I'd missed the revolvetechs; and that you mentioned SHF Figuarts. That kind of information is great, gives me a sense of what else is available that I might not have been aware of.

Well, virtually nothing is without flaw, be it in terms of build or aesthetic. You can always make something better.

The Henson turtles have insanely good likenesses in the head/face, but they suffer a few inaccuracies by sharing the same body (an understandable move on NECA's part, for cutting costs), for example, Michelangelo should be shorter than the rest of them, but isn't. The figures also have a bumpy textured skin which is a lot more pronounced than it ought to be. Then there's the matter of them sometimes falling over at random or breaking at the thigh joint. They're probably the "best" looking at first glance, & it's hard to argue against that film being an amazing representation of TMNT, but alas, they are in ways imperfect.

The Revoltech turtles are arguably the most 1:1 with their animated counterparts, have incredibly awesome accessories & stuff, but some folks don't like their protruding joints. NECA's Mirage line is mostly based on the first few issues, but the style changed throughout the series so there are many of us who'd prefer a more definitive City At War era turtle figure set. + these days you can only get (albeit high quality) bootlegs. So on & so forth.

Don't think the best possible toys have been made yet.

For my money, I think the Revoltech & SHF Figurart turtles are the best bang for your buck, in term of articulation & accessories (the former have snazzy bases, even).

The Henson heads are pretty hard to beat. It would be nice to see them with glass eyes and a rubber body @1/6 scale. I don't know, but I think that could be the grail for me.
I like the Mirage style too. I just picked up book 35, and it spawned this thread, mainly as I've not seen any Turtles from the other Mirage artists made into toys, and then I started to wonder if the best of the toys had been produced.

I think anything by NECA would be your best bet. Personally, I think they are all around better than anything else out there. Others might excel in specific areas but NECA does well when it comes to likenesses and price point. Iíve only heard their quality can be hit or miss but that seems to happen with almost anything. Iíve never had any problems myself.

If by holy grail you mean things that I wished exist, absolutely. 2, really.

1. Henson turtles in 1/12 scale. Could basically just be the NECA ones shrunken down to that of a normal action figure's size. I've always wanted screen accurate 1990 pieces like those, but the ones they've put out are just way too big, expensive, & fragile, for my taste.

2. This may be asking too much but a series of 1/12 figures that produces multiples of each turtle, done in different comic artists' respective styles. Lawson, Talbot, Farley, Dooney, newer blood like Duncan, Campbell, Santolouco, etc. A user here by the name of PlasticPlayhouse made some insanely cool customs like that, if you can somehow search for his threads, you'll see his pieces are great examples of the concept's potential. Maybe just two box sets from NECA, one of the 4 turtles as done by different Mirage artists, another of IDW's? I'm a big fan of the comics, I collect original art & stuff, celebrating those guys' work & respective styles is an important part of turtle fandom, for me.

Thanks Toiltefan. I like how they look online, but I'm not sold that it's worth 100$ per Turtle for something that wouldn't go with my other figures. Hard to justify, even if the heads are almost perfect. I also don't like that they're so bright, which is a small gripe, but it's a factor I guess.

You could say I'm torn, and yes, I agree with you, but also on the fence.

To Powder:

That's what I was thinking! I agree with both of those suggestions, but is anyone planning to make those? I feel that perhaps since the Bayturtles, the mini Turtle hype died a little and that there aren't as many people who would want those, as say, the 2012 turtles, or the ones in this new series.

NECA hasn't exactly dropped hints, but I wanna say they've made some comments that suggest the door is open for those, perhaps after the large ones' hype & sales have died down. Maybe in a year or two it could become a realistic possibility? They seem to have a new model of one or two convention-aimed TMNT figure sets per year, so there's an avenue for it. As for artist editions, not a peep about that. Probably too niche. I do know NECA have outright turned down the notion of making IDW figures, as they want to focus on the nostalgia market, so that's one nail in the coffin.

As a kid I was super into my Playmates turtles. Personally barring the rest of the line with the exception of Casey and Shredder #2, the 2012 Playmates turtles are perfect to me. They look nothing like the show other than the wraps, skin tones, and Raph's shell crack. (I'd actually love to see something animated in the style of those figures.) They have a sculpt in terms muscle definition more akin to the 1990 movie turtles. Still have the similar eyes and grimace of the original Playmates turtles with added articulation. Those are my grail in terms of the scale of figures I prefer, nostalgia factor, cost, and versatility as I'm an oob collector. There are plenty of other great, far better in terms of quality, representations of turtles figures but the 2012 Playmates are the best to me.

I'm looking for honest opinions. I'm thinking of buying my first "expensive" TMNT set, and I'd like to know everyone's take on which company gives the most value-for-dollar, and why.

I've read that Mondo's figures had loose joints, that Neca's 1990 movie figures had some quality control issues, and that 3A didn't really look great in-hand.
So, has the demand for the greatest turtle figure been filled by any of the companies out there, or is there still a need for a better product?

Should I invest in what's been made, or wait for something better to come along?

Honestly? Get the NECA series 1 bootlegs for less than $50 for a complete set. Red teams and rainbow teams are available for the same price.

The NECA 1990 1/4 scale figures will still run about 100/turtle and they are SUPER LARGE, and thus need lots of space.

If you want a complete set of figures the SDCCC 2017 NECA 8 pack is pretty sweet as well, but SH Figuarts turtles and Gokin Krang is the way to go for that scale IMO.

This covers, FW series, 1990 movie, and the OG Comics. If you want something in the 4kids iteration, it looks like the DreamEX line might be your best bet, but for 2012 line you are missing the Revoltech turtles. Very awesome line.

Really it just comes down to which turtles were your favorite and what kind of space you have to display them. the 1/4 scale will need an entire beer fridge worth of space to display (laying on its side of course)

It really boils down to what turtles you like the best. If it's Nick's, then Revoltech. If it's Mirage, you can't beat that first wave from NECA. For the Fred Wolf turtles, you've got your choice between NECA & SHF Figuarts. The former give you villains, but they also have some QC issues & a bit of sameface syndrome. I personally prefer the latter from Bandai, they're beefier, more durable, more articulated, have neat accessories & alternate heads.

I'm not a big fan of the really large pricey pieces, they take up a lot of space, have their share of problems, & your wallet takes a harder hit.

If there's a particular iteration of TMNT you like above all else, let us know which one that is & we might be able to steer you in the right direction.

I had to vote for SDCC 2017 set. If you can get a set with good eyes they are nice figures. And Shredder is the best Shredder to date. Other than that I'd say the NECA 1/4 turtles. The only reason I made them second is 3-4 figures for the same price as 8 and a bunch of accessories. Plus they are huge and don't fit any other TMNT line. I like the Figuarts and Revoltech too. But with no baddies in the line, I had to drop them behind the others.

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The NECA series 1 figures edge out the others for me. They're really nice, the paint is excellent, and they're a manageable size. I really like the Henson Turtles and I think they're good value, but they're huge and heavy, and they don't really fit in with the majority of Turtles figures.

The SDCC 2017 set is bananas. It's almost overwhelming when you crack it open, with all the different hands and accessories, but the price is only high on that thing because you're getting eight figures in one box. Individually, the figures are really cool, but they don't feel as nice in hand as the series 1 figures, and I can't shake the feeling that their legs are going to fall off at any second. Having said that, the series 1 figures are probably fragile too, so I guess it depends on your preference for toon or comic Turtles.

So aside from scale, who did it better, Neca or Mondo with respect to Mirage?
I have my opinions, but what's the consensus? If they were to continue the line, but you had to choose one, who wins?

I flipped through my stash again last night, and really took in the massive changes in style between books. 1&2 are pretty consistent... 3 it starts to change and from there on, we don't see any consistency again until Lawson, but then his style drifts into something similar to what he's doing today.

So, that said, the Mirage look, like Powder pointed out, is all over the place, right?